An image sensor device is one of the building blocks in a digital imaging system such as a digital still or video camera. An image sensor device includes a pixel array (or grid) for detecting light and recording intensity (brightness) of the detected light. The pixel array responds to the light by accumulating a charge—for example, the more light, the higher the charge. The accumulated charge is then used (for example, by other circuitry) to provide a color and brightness for use in a suitable application, such as a digital camera. One type of image sensor device is a backside illuminated (BSI) image sensor device. BSI image sensor devices are used for sensing a volume of light projected towards a backside surface of a substrate (which supports the image sensor circuitry of the BSI image sensor device). The pixel grid is located at a front side of the substrate, and the substrate is thin enough so that light projected towards the backside of the substrate can reach the pixel grid. BSI image sensor devices provide a reduced destructive interference, as compared to front-side illuminated (FSI) image sensor devices.
Integrated circuit (IC) technologies are constantly being improved. Such improvements frequently involve scaling down device geometries to achieve lower fabrication costs, higher device integration density, higher speeds, and better performance. Along with the advantages realized from reducing geometry size, improvements are being made directly to the image sensor devices.
Due to device scaling, improvements to image sensor device technology are continually being made to further improve image quality of image sensor devices. Although existing image sensor devices and methods of fabricating image sensor devices have been generally adequate for their intended purposes, as device scaling down continues, they have not been entirely satisfactory in all respects.